Rogue Pryde
by KatePryde
Summary: Each day we grow more afraid. The MRA is due to pass any day now, and if it does I don't know what will happen to us. We've all lived as mutants for years without being known to anyone other than the team. But this girl with uncharted abilities, and her companion, just might change everything for us all. And I don't know if that's good or bad. 4th story in series.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is a sequel to my X-Men comic short story series, Shadowed Pryde. You don't really have to read the first three stories to understand this, since the plot is kind of separate, but in order to understand the characters, I would recommend that you take a look at them. **

**This is set in July of 2014.**

**Thanks!**

* * *

_**Previously:**_

_**When Scott and some of the others got called out on a retrieval mission, my senses started tingling, and I almost felt kind of relieved. I was aching for some action, some adventure, some anything to break the mundane cycle that we were currently living in.**_

_**And later, when they returned, I discovered that that something was the girl. She was either my age or a little bit older who was currently clinging to Jean like she was a life line. There was another unfamiliar mutant with her, but she was the key to whatever was coming next.**_

_**I walked over to stand in front of her and stuck my hand out in greeting. She immediately shied away, as if she were afraid of me.**_

_**I spoke to her gently, "I'm Kitty. What's your name?"**_

_**There was a brief silence while we all stood in the corridor waiting for her to speak. I could tell from the way that she was shuffling her feet that she was looking at her companion, as if asking for permission. Apparently whatever silent signal he gave her told her that telling me her name would be alright.**_

_**"I'm Rogue."**_

_**"It's nice to meet you." I replied.**_

* * *

Seconds after telling my her name, her companion collapsed. I held her back as all the adults hauled him up and rushed him to the medbay. She was shaking in my arms as I heard them board the elevator.

"Hey," I told her softly, "He'll be okay."

"Can you honestly promise that?"

"No. But I can promise that Hank will do his best."

She seemed to be okay with that answer. I hugged her closer to me as I sensed, more than heard, Professor Xavier wheeling up behind us. For an unexplained reason I felt apprehensive about him being close to her.

"Hello girls," he said in that deep voice of his, " Kitty, I heard that Scott and the others brought back two people. Where is the other?"

"You're a little late to the party Xavier," I joked, "He collapsed, and the others took the man downstairs. I'll check on him later." He nodded. "For now, sir, where can we put Rouge?"

"Well...You don't have a roommate yet, Kitty."

It was true. I didn't. All the new recruits were just a tad to immature to stand me for long before requesting a room change. I guess they didn't like my sparkling personality. I wasn't complaining.

"Sure. And while I'm making up a bed for you, you can use my shower and borrow some of my clothes." The last statement, of course, was directed at Rouge and not at Xavier. My clothes would never fit him.

"Ummmm..." She hesitated, and I patted her hand in an effort to comfort her. "Do you have any gloves?" Her quiet question threw me off a bit, I have to admit. It was the middle of July, and she wanted to wear gloves?

"Yeah," I said slowly, "I do. You like wearing gloves?"

"No."

Her reply confused me. _She wants them, but doesn't like them?_ Being the genius that I am, I decided to ask why. "Then why do you want some?" I asked.

"The ones I'm wearing are dirty and I need a new pair."

It was clear that she wasn't going to give me any answer beyond what she had already told me, so I let sleeping dogs lie, and bid the Professor goodbye. Grasping her arm, I led her up the stairs and to my room.

"Alright, I'm going to go grab a cot for you for tonight, and we'll see about having the guys set up a more permanent bed for you in the morning. Sound good?" I took her silence as an affirmative, and went digging through my closet for something that would fit her. "You can go hop into the shower if you want, it's that door over there."

"You've got a nice room, you know." She said as she stepped towards the bathroom.

"I know. Kurt designed it." I smiled a bit, remember that day two years ago when I first moved into the mansion.

My brother had done a good job.

After showing her the shower and giving her some clean clothes, I went to bug Piotr for help with one of the spare cots.

"Piotrrrrrrrrrr!" I called out in a sing-song tone. Reaching his door, I stuck my head through it.

I heard a muffled Russian curse before he walked over to the door and opened it. The second nothing was seperating us, I pulled him down (way down considering he was over a foot taller than me) for a quick kiss.

"What is it that you need, Katya?" he asked as I pulled away.

"The new girl is moving in with me. I need some help getting a cot set up for her."

Being the nice guy that he is, he lifted one of the more comfortable ones off of the top shelf in the large supply closet for me.

Being the nice girl that I am, I thanked him with another kiss before ditching my guy for the timid girl in my bedroom.

The minute I opened my door in order to push the cot into the room she was there in front of me, helping me by pulling on the other end. Between the two of us, we got it set up in a few minutes.

"Well," I said with a slight huff, "There's that. Anything you need, you let me know. You're welcome to anything in the room, except my computer and books, since they're password protected and designed for people like me, specifically."

"People like you?" she asked me curiously. I turned my gaze to her, an incredulous expression taking over my features.

_Did she seriously not know?_

"Yeah," I said, "I'm blind. My books are either in braille or on a special eReader and my computer was custom built to work for me."

"Seriously" She cried, "But you seem so..." she trailed off, and I could tell that she was scared of offending me.

I sat down on my bed and patted the space next to me. It took a minute, but she took my invitation.

"I seem so normal?" I finished for her. She nodded. "It's okay, I get that a lot. I'm just so used to this place and everybody in it, that I don't have a problem getting around without any kind of aid. And for me, being blind is normal. I was born this way, so it's all I know."

"I think that's kind of cool," she admitted.

"Thanks Rouge." I patted her hand gently. "I do too."

"So, what is this place anyway?"

"Well, it's official name is Xavier's School for the Gifted."

"So what, you're all really smart or talented?"

I laughed slightly. "Well, some of us are smart. And we all are talented in our own way. But that's not why we are students here."

"What do you mean?" I was clearly confusing her with my vague answers. I decided to put an end to her misery.

"Rouge, several of our teachers brought you in. Surely you've got to know that they are mutants." I said exasperatedly.

"Well," she said slowly, "The white haired lady made the snow move around, and that guy with the headgear shot a laser out of his eye to get me out of the car...but I figured that was just them."

I couldn't help myself, I outright laughed at her descriptions of Scott and Storm.

"Sooooo,"she continued, "I know that they are mutants, but I don't know if anybody else here knows."

"Oh," I reassured her, "We all know that they're mutants."

"But," she said hesitantly, "isn't that dangerous? What if someone in the school is against mutants?"

"Then they would be against themselves." I said dryly.

"I don't understand what you are getting at, Kitty." Rouge finally snapped.

_Ooooh, so she can get angry._ I smirked.

"On the outside, we are a school for gifted kids. That's what the public sees anyhow. The sign just doesn't specify what _kind_ of gifted. Everyone here, student, teacher, it doesn't matter, is a mutant."

Her silence was overwhelming. Literally. She stopped breathing audibly, and while I could tell she was thinking she was also clearly gaping, unable to put those thoughts into words.

She didn't move.

_Dang it, I broke her!_

I waved my hand in front of her face slightly, hoping for some sort of response. I could feel her twitch slightly, and I let out a sigh of relief.

_Well, at least I haven't killed her...yet.  
_

I started to shake her, and would have continued to do so until she acknowledged me, if it hadn't been for the school alarms going off at that exact moment. I recognized the sequence instantly. It was easy, considering that I had designed most of them.

That particular alarm only went off when someone decided to break out of the medbay before Hank or Jean released them. Which meant that the man who had accompanied Rouge was currently making a break for it, since he was the only one occupying that sector at the moment.

Why do we have such an alarm? I blame Logan. Healing factor or no, he is no longer allowed to leave until one of our doctors checks him out.

And seconds later, I felt the Professor telepathically brushing my mind, asking for permission to enter. I gently let him in, long enough for him to speak to me.

_Kitty, our guest has found himself trapped in the Danger Room, which has locked itself down. Kurt doesn't dare teleport into there with the defense mechanism on, so would you be so kind as to help our guest out?_

I sighed again, more heavily this time.

**Sure thing Professor. You might want to send somebody up to watch the girl while I'm busy. Finding out that we are _all _mutants seems to have given her a bit of a shock.**

_How big of a shock? _

**She hasn't spoken since I told her a few minutes ago.**

He paused_. I see. Well, you handle her companion and I will send Storm upstairs to take care of her. _

_Will do. _

I cut the connection the minute we were through talking. I hated it when anyone was in my head.

I explained to Rogue that I was going to be gone for a little while, and that a friend of mine would be staying with her until I came back. She nodded her head, which gave me a slight hope that I didn't completely break her, and then I left, dropping through the floor as if it wasn't even there. The gasp that I heard before my head went down let me know that I had startled Rogue even more, and I winced a little.

_Well, _I thought, _**that **__went well. _

Thankfully, thanks to the structure of the mansion, the Danger room was only a few stories directly below me. All I had to do was drop down. And, thanks to my mutation, accomplishing that task was relatively easy. And quick. It only took a few seconds for me to drop through the floors to the lower level.

Now, the Danger Room, the medbay, the Jet Hanger, and all of the X-Men paraphernalia are kept in the lower levels away from the rest of the school. It's all kept a secret from the majority of the students. And in the words of the great Albus Dumblodore, "_Therefore, naturally, the whole school knows."_

Many of the older children go down there to train at least once a week, or more than once a week if they have to make a trip to the medbay. Which, for most of the boys at least, happens a lot. But for the most part, it is an unspoken rule that anyone who is not a member of the team stays out of the lower levels unless they are told to be there for some reason.

The second I felt myself slip into the control room for the DR systems, I switched off my mutation. Since I was the computer genius in the group, ever since I had arrived I was the one in charge of all the holograms and mechanics that we had built into the training sequences. Once I was completely solid, I nearly gagged on on the scent of fried machinery.

Somehow this mutant had managed to completely short out of our systems, and by the sounds coming from the training area below, had thrown himself through the window in order to escape and now found himself trapped fighting our equipment. I sighed, knowing that it would take me and Hank weeks to fix it all.

_Looks like we're doing hand-to-hand combat for a while. _

Now, normally, if this had happened then we would all be stuck fighting against the holograms until we managed to break all of the projectors and robots. That's how it was when I first came here anyway. But, replacing all of the stuff constantly had been getting expensive, so I created a device that let out a pulse of electricity that had been tuned to just the right frequency to shut down all of the Danger Room devices, and nothing else.

It had taken us over two months to do it, but it was worth it.

I threw the switch, and listened as the sounds of fighting slowly died as the machines shorted and the holos disappeared. Down below me, the man was floundering in confusion, clearly wondering why all of the things he had been fighting were slowly disappearing. I decided not to keep him in that state for long.

"Ya know," I shouted, "You really ought to be more careful around here. No telling what you might stumble into."

"Ya try wakin' up strapped to a bed with a red-head standin' over you with some weird gadgets in her hands and not freak out, petite." His Cajun accent made me giggle slightly, and I jumped down to stand next to him.

I thought back for a brief instant, remembering back to the day the exact same thing had happened to me, the very first time I had ever met all of the X-Men.

"Been there, done that." I told him. He ignored me though. I figured I knew why.

"Where's the girl?" He asked hurriedly.

"Rogue? She's in my room."

"She safe?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "Little shocked, but she's fine."

"Good."

"So," I asked curiously, "You got a name for me, Bayou Boy?"

I could practically feel him grin. "My name is Remy, petite. But you can call me Gambit."

* * *

**I love this story. And now that Rogue and Gambit are here, things are going to get interesting.**


	2. Chapter 2

"So, where are we exactly?" Remy asked.

We were all gathered in the lounge. Well, the team was anyway. We decided that explanations could wait until later that night, and therefore all the students were currently in bed. Due to the level of excitement that we had that day, I doubt that any of them were actually asleep however. We were seated in a circle with the Professor at the head. Remy was next to him, with Rogue on his other side. She hadn't left him once since he had woken up.

"Our school is located in Westchester, New York." I said.

"New York?" he asked in surprise, "But we were in Vegas last I checked!"

"And we found you and brought you here." Scott told him.

The Professor stepped (not literally, mind you.) "Well, now that we have your location established, Remy, Rogue, I would like to introduce you to my team. Kitty, you have both already met." I waved at them slightly. "But I'd also like you to meet Ororo Munro, also called Storm. This is Scott Summers, also called Cyclops. Jean Grey, Piotr Rasputin, and finally Kurt Wagner. They are the X-Men."

"X-Men?" Rouge cut in, "You mean you're those guys on TV sometimes?"

"Yes," Kurt replied, "Just without the uniforms and masks."

"You are in my School for the Gifted — for mutants. You'll be safe here from Magneto."

_Hold the phone._

"Prof, what the heck are you talking about?"

"Some of Erik's goonies attacked these two outside of Vegas. We stopped them." Storm said.

"Why?"

"Why did we stop them?" Her questioned was confused, as it should have been.

"No," I quickly clarified, "Why did Magneto attack them?"

"We don't know, Kitty. But we are going to find out."

"What's a Magneto anyhow?" Rogue's question made me chuckle.

"A very powerful mutant who believes that a war is brewing between mutants and the rest of humanity. I've been following his activities for some time."

That was news to both me and my team, if their startled reactions were anything to go by. We had all jumped a little, and from the sounds of their heads whipping around the Professor had a lot of eyes on him. Magneto hadn't really done anything bad, as far as any of us knew. Yes, he was alligned with the Brotherhood and Mystique, but somehow always managed to stay out of trouble with us, and by extension, with the authorities.

"Why?" I asked, again.

"For the exact same reason we are." I grimaced. Nick Fury and the Avengers always arrived at the most inopportune moments.

"Tony," I said exasperatedly, "I gave you and Jarvis the mansions security codes to use in an _emergency_ only. Does this look like an emergency to you?"

"It's an emergency, Ms. Pryde, when I decide that it is."

"Ah yes," I bit back, "God forbid anything happen without the great Nick Fury deciding exactly just what 'it' is."

"Two mutants attacked outside of Vegas, by a group who has been on our watch list for years, and you expect me not to react?"

"I expect you to leave it to us, just like you do with the rest of the mutant affairs!" I shouted. "As for your precious watch list, let's face it," I gestured around at the group of people both seated and standing, "We're all on it, but you don't come after any of us when we're involved in a fight."

"That's different, Pryde." Nick said firmly.

"Is it?" I challenged, "Is it? Let's face it, when it comes down to a comparison between us and the Brotherhood, the only thing different is our morals and the way that we do things. Our endgame is ultimately the same. We want to be accepted. Come on Fury, I may have only been in this game for two years, but just like you, I know how to play it."

I paused and let thought sink in for a moment as the Avengers took their seats.

Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, Spider-Man, Bruce Banner, Iron Man, and Thor.

I had files on all of them, just like they had files on us. The only difference was that I was smart and kept mine on paper in a secure location, while their digital files on us kept getting wiped every time that they were remade. The beauty of technology and computer viruses.

You'd think that they would learn..

"Look, I get it. We're nothing like them." I continued, "But what about this is cause for such concern? He's done it before, this procuring thing, and he'll do it again. Nothing ever comes of it. What makes this time so special that both you and The Prof have been watching him without telling the rest of us?"

They were both silent for a minute, and then Xavier spoke.

"We've been keeping an eye on him for as long as he has kept an eye on Rogue."

"Me?!" the girl said, clearly startled.

"Why her?" Remy wanted to know.

"It's because of her mother, isn't it?" I asked. _Dammit. _Everyone's heads turned to face me.

It was stupid to mention it, I know, but for some reason I couldn't help myself. And with that simple question, all focus was on me again. I could practically taste the curiosity that was currently radiating from everyone. None of them had any idea of what I was talking about, not even Kurt. I cursed myself slightly for speaking without thinking.

"What about her mother?" Tony wanted to know, "The Darkholme family is clean, I checked. There is no connection to Magneto or the Brotherhood."

_Wow. They really have been keeping tabs on her. _

I couldn't help myself, I laughed, which did absolutely nothing to draw the attention off of me.

"What is it that you know, Kitty?" The Professor asked.

"Did you seriously not pick up on the clue that Tony just gave you, Xavier? I would have expected you of all people to have caught onto what I'm trying to tell you. The three of you were once so close after all."

"Out with it, kid! We don't have time for your riddles today." Logan commanded.

"Her last name is Darkholme. _Darkholme._ And if any of you had read the files that I made for you on the Brotherhood, you would know exactly who that name ties her to."

The Professor gasped slightly as I continued, "There is only one other person I know who has that name. Raven Darkholme, code name: Mystique. The Professor knows her because they used to live together, and we all know that she and Magneto are close. Is that why he came after Rogue? Because she is her daughter?"

The room exploded, and once more I wished that I hadn't spoke. Fury was trying to make Xavier give him (Fury) Rogue to take into custody to sort this out, an all of the members of my team were objecting to letting him anywhere near her. Most of the Avengers agreed with us, while Hawkeye and Widow stood alongside the leader of SHIELD, ever loyal agents that they were. Gambit was trying to calm Rogue, who was having another minor breakdown as a result of finding out that her mother was a supervillian. And me? I was just sitting there listening to the chaos I had inadvertently managed to create. I didn't say anything. At least, not until I heard a sound outside of the door.

I stood up quickly. "SHUT UP!" I screamed.

They all fell silent as I made my way to the doors, which Fury had shut when he oh-so-politely let himself and the others in. I listened at it for a minute, pressing my ear to the cool wood. Once I knew that I had definetly heard what I had thought I heard, I glared at the other occupants of the room before pulling the door open to reveal a scared looking Illyana Rasputin.

"I heard shouting," the seven year old said in Russian. "It frightened me."

She knew how to speak English fluently, but preferred to speak in her native language whenever possible, or in times of stress, like now. I sent another glare over my shoulder before gathering the child into my arms. As petite as I was, the girl was already more than half my size, and picking her up was a slight struggle. Piotr moved to take his sister from me, but I shook my head at him.

"Look," I said, "We're all tired, and we aren't going to get anywhere with this tonight. Why don't you guys bunk here and we all can talk about this in the morning, okay?"

I didn't wait for their answer. I just turned my back on them and activated my mutation, reveling in the familiar tingle that spread across my skin. Illyana laughed as I extended the invisible field over her body, and as soon as it was stable I used it to float us up through the floor and into the second level hallway. My grip on her was firm as I took her back to her room. She snuggled her face down deep into my neck and squeezed me tightly. I tried to keep my steps as smooth as possible as I carried her the short distance.

"Kitty?" she said sleepily, "Will you tell me a story?"

I kissed the top of her forehead when we reached her door. "Of course, Snowflake. What do you want to hear?"

She thought for a little bit while I phased us inside and tucked her back into her bed.  
"I want to hear about the day you met Petya."

"That story again? But you've heard it a thousand times!" I exclaimed.

"Then it won't hurt me to listen to it again, will it?" she snarked.

_I've taught her well. _

I giggled, but relented. She settled down deeper into the covers as I told her about the day that I first met her brother, and Logan, and Storm, and Xavier. She knew everything I was going to say by heart. But she always listened intently as I told her how they came to my house, I took them out for ice cream, and then we were attacked. It was our favorite story, and I knew that it always would be. Her focus never shifted from me as I described the events of the day that changed my life forever. She was asleep by the time I was done, and I quietly left the room without bothering to open the door.


	3. Chapter 3

There was someone in my room. I had always been a light sleeper, ready to run at the first sign of trouble. That hadn't changed when I moved to New York two years ago, and it certainly hadn't changed now. I didn't move, and kept my breathing as even as it had been before I had been jerked awake to the sound of my door creaking open.

I knew that it was not someone that had permission to be in there, and whoever it was clearly wasn't a part of the X-Men. If they had permission to be in there, they would have already announced their presence. If they were a member of my team, they would have woken me quickly to deal with whatever crisis was at hand. And since there were no alarms going of, be they electronic or telepathic, I was left to conclude that the person currently shutting the door was there for one reason only, namely, to kill me. I didn't like that thought.

The second the door was fully closed I reached for the_ sai_ that rested above my headboard, a gift from Logan that had been given upon his return from a trip to Japan a few months before. It left my fingertips, spinning towards the intruder as I leapt out of bed and darted quickly to my target. The blade had its intended effect, striking the person just below the arm and pinning them to the wall. I moved to punch them, but was stopped by their voice.

"Nice reflexes Pryde. The only ones I've seen react that quickly would be Black Widow or Hawk-eye. Maybe The Calvary on a good day."

"Dammit Fury!" I cursed, stepping back and removing my arm from its position across his neck. "Give a girl some warning next time!"

"Whatever you say, Pryde. Whatever you say."

I reached for the light switch and flipped it, for his benefit and not my own. "I'm serious, Nick. I could have seriously hurt you."

"No, you couldn't have."

I chose not to correct him. Pulling my desk chair out from under my table, I sat on my bed and gestured for him to also take a seat. He didn't bother to thank me, instead just plopping down without much ceremony.

"So," I began nonchalantly, "Whatcha need from the computer geek? A tune up? New spyware? Phil-hiding systems? A Hyrda bug removal? Your systems have been quite infected lately."

He started suddenly. "What the hell are you talking about, Pryde?"

"I think that you know exactly what I am talking about. Namely, the fact that Phil survived the Battle of New York. And ever since Cap went on ice, Hydra has been infiltrating SHIELD. Really, there is nothing that happens in the world that I don't know about."

"I should know that by now," he admitted a little ruefully, "You are probably the only person in the world outside of my circle with that knowledge. You gonna keep your mouth shut?"

I knew enough of the man to understand that his question was not in the least bit threatening, only curious. He genuinely wanted to know if I could keep this secret.

"I know how you brought Phil back. I don't agree with what you did, and if he knew and understood, neither would he. You nearly started a war by your actions, you realize that right?"

"I am fully aware of my actions, Pryde."

"Then you better be fully aware of the consequences Nick. What you did made you no better than what Hydra did to the Winter Soldier. Another secret that I am oh so happy to keep for you." My sarcasm toward the end of my dialogue was biting.

"Jesus Pryde, what the hell are you?"

"A person who is determined to know all the facts."

"But not share them."

My head jerked up. While we may have been discussing certain secrets at that moment, he wasn't referring to any of them.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing important. Just the fact that Mystique has more than one child. In fact, she has four."

Damn it. I should have known that he knew. After all, he was the head of SHIELD. In the words of Tony Stark, he was The Spy. If there was anyone in the world who knew more about it then me, then it was him.

But still. I had been living with this secret for over a year. My brother and I were both reluctant to admit that Mystique had given birth to us, especially as her list of crimes grew. The imagined reactions of our team frightened us, and we were not sure how to go about it.

But, back to the present.

"Are you going to rat us out?"

"No. That's your business and not mine. What you tell your team is your choice, and it's not my place to open my mouth."

I knew where he was going for this.

"In other words, you don't say anything to my team if I don't say anything to yours."

"Exactly." He said with a tone of satisfaction evident in his voice.

I would have said something in that moment, but I was interrupted by the sound of an alarm coming from my computer. I leaped from the bed and didn't even bother pushing Nick out of the chair, plopping down into his lap and throwing my computer open. My fingers hit the keys furiously, typing in my password and entering into the mainframe.

Hydra was trying to access SHIELD again, and had managed to bring all my firewalls down. I cursed under my breath, feeling a drop of sweat coursing down my face.

Imagine, if you will, for one moment, a maze. Like any maze you find in a newspaper, there is only one entrance and one exit. The person traveling the maze has to enter from one and exit out the other, there is no other way to make it through. This concept is what I had used to keep Hydra out of the computers of the X-Mansion, the Fantastic Four tower in San Francisco, the SHIELD mainframe, and pretty much any other super hero team that associated with us. I would have bugged Tony Stark's mainframe as well, but JARVIS didn't like me for some reason. I stayed away from that computer. _Far away. _

But I'm rambling again. Back to the maze concept.

I controlled where Hydra went in the mainframe. They saw only what I wanted them to see. I could create a program that showed horror movies twenty-four seven, and directed the hackers to that program and only that program, keeping the secrets that needed to be kept.

But now, someone had taken a virtual wrecking ball to the maze, blowing it wide open and leaving a lot of exit points. They were getting through to the heart of SHIELD. I couldn't let that happen.

My muscles were tense as I accessed the program. I shoved all the Hydra drones out of my way and rebuilt the maze from the ground up. I really don't know how to describe it, but it was the most intense thirty seconds of my life as I pieced together the bits of the firewall. When I was done, I leaned back with a sigh.

A hand stroking my hair gently reminded me of where I was, and I shot up as soon as he stopped.

"Oh god, god, god, I am soooo freaking sorry..." I don't know how long I babbled for, but one second I was standing and the next I was sitting on the floor, having been overcome with dizziness.

"It's okay, Katherine." His voice was soft, and a part of me registered that this was the first time he had ever used my actual, given name. "I had no idea..." he trailed off. A few tense seconds passed.

"Thank you." He finally finished. "You've kept them from us for so long. They would have probably broken through already if it weren't for you."

"Yeah," I couldn't help but agree, "They would have."

"So thank you, for doing what others could not. You have no idea how many lives you have saved."

"I don't need to know." I told him. "Because, frankly, I could care less. Maybe that makes me sound like a bad person, but I have never been one to fight for the greater good. I fight for the here and the now and the people that_ I_ love. No one, and nothing else."

He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. I knew that he understood.

"So we have a deal then? I'll keep your secrets if you keep mine?"

"Done, Pryde."

We shook on it.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, what exactly were we going to talk about again?" I couldn't help but quip.

It was later that morning. Fury had left my room and I had suited up into my favorite black leather ensemble. Even though I couldn't see the rest of the people in the room, I knew that they had all suited up for the occasion. This was, after all, an official rendezvous.

Sometimes it amazed me how well we managed to work together when we were all so different. And it astounded me that all these mutants and humans were able to be in the same room with each other (and each others tempers) without blowing the room up.

I mean, after all, the names alone were enough to strike fear in the hearts of any sane person.

Cyclops  
Jean Grey  
Professor X  
Storm  
Wolverine  
Colossus  
Beast  
Sprite  
Nick Fury  
Iron Man  
Black Widow  
Captain America  
Hawk-eye  
Bruce Banner  
and  
Thor.

….Superheroes anonymous meeting anyone?

"What I want to know," Tony began in a loud voice (when is he ever not loud?), "Is how you know that Rogue is Mystique's daughter. And Kat, don't give me that bull about her name like you did last night. I think that we are all intelligent enough to realize that you were lying."

Are you?

We were back in the War Room, and frankly, I was terrified. The secret that I had been keeping for more than a year was undoubtedly about to come out, and I had no idea how anyone was going to react. I mean, yeah, we all had our dark pasts, and sure I wasn't the only one in the room related to a criminal. But I was the only one related to an active, current criminal who was still at large and wanted for murder. Furthermore, I was her daughter.

I could already sense that everyone was apprehensive around Rogue, everyone but Remy that is. I knew that it was hurting her, how everyone in the room was subconsciously avoiding her. That's why I had taken a seat next to her at the table, with Remy on her other side, and Kurt next to me. Family united, though I was the only one that currently knew it.

I mean, Kurt knew that I was his sister, and had known for a while. But I had never told him about Rogue. Or Greyson. I didn't know how he would take it. He and I still hadn't spoken about what I had revealed the night before. We should have, but we didn't.

Everyone was staring at me. I could feel it. But I continued to sit silently, staring at nothing as I tried to figure out usut how I was going to tell them what I knew. This knowledge was certain to break a lot of trust.

I wasn't ready. But it had to be done.

"I know that Rogue is her daughter, without question."

"We understand that, Kitty," Scott exclaimed in aggravation, "But how do you know that?"

"Because my mother told me."

"What? How would your mother know?"

I grinned slightly, thinking back to the first, and last time I had ever met Raven.

She had been robbing a bank. Typical for her, needing money. She always needed some way to finance Magneto's plots to take over the world. What wasn't typical about this time, is that I was there. It was a bank in NYC, and I was picking up something out of the Xavier vault for the Professor.

She cornered me. Kind of obvious, going for a blind hostage. She didn't expect me to fight back. She certainly didn't expect me to call her, "Mom." But hey, that's me. Always going for the unexpected.

"Well, she did ask me to keep an eye on my sister should I ever meet her." I finally said.

"Kitten, you're not making any sense." Storm cut in.

I snapped. To be honest, it happens often. Really often. So it honestly wasn't that surprising that I lost my temper…..again.

"My god, people, are you really that dense!? I know that Mystique is Rogue's mother because she is my mother too!"

Silence.

Wow. I really know how to quiet a room.

"I never told any of you but Kurt, and before you ask, he's her kid too. Oh, and she also gave birth to Graydon Creed. Let's just make sure that you know all of her children."

No response.

"Look, I never told any of you because the first time I met her, she tried to kill us all. I didn't know then what I know now. But a few months passed, and I figured what the hell. So I just didn't tell anyone at all. The only reason Kurt knows is because I found out that we were related."

"We can't let her stay here." Scott said abruptly, standing up. Even though I couldn't see it, I knew instictively that his hand was on his visor, ready to blast me if I made a wrong move. "Either of them. How do we know what side they are on? How do we know that we can trust him."

"Hold on just a damn second-" Rogue began to say, but I cut her off.

"No Rogue. He's right." I could feel everyone staring at me in utter confusion. It was a well known fact that Scott and I didn't get along. The thought of me agreeing with him on anything was completely ludacris. "He can't trust me," I continued on, acting oblivious to the disbelief around me, "After all, it's not like I've ever bled for him. Or any of you. It's not like I spent countless hours upgrading all the systems in the mansion, free of charge when I should have been doing my homework or practicing for a recital. It's not like I destroyed my relationship with my parents, moved halfway across the country, given up everything, and have constantly risked my life for you."

I unzipped my jacket a little and shoved it off my left shoulder, baring it for all eyes to see. There was a small round scar there, faded, but still visible. "It's not like I've never taken a bullet for Jean, or gotten stabbed for Storm. I've never been in the medbay, never been in critical condition, never taken a hit for any of you. I've never intervened and saved any of your asses. Not once. Because I'm the daughter of Mystique, so that automatically means that I am a traitor to your precious cause. Right?" I looked around, but no one responded. Shrugging my jacket back on, I figured, what the heck? and continued to talk.

"Right. I'm her kid, so I must have been giving her intel for years. That explains why they've never succeeded whenever they've attacked the mansion. That explains why I avoid her every time we fight them. That's why I'm not with her right now, having run when I had the chance."

My voice had grown quieter with every word I spoke, fading out into a whisper as I finished. I was hurt by their lack of trust in me. After all, we had been through hell together. We had fought together, lived together, bled, sweat, and cried together. I had given up my family for these people, and had gained a new one in their place. This mansion was the only place that I felt truly at home, the one place that I felt free. And it was slowly slipping from my grasp.

"Look," I sighed, "We all have our dark secrets, the little things that we never talk about. Just because mine is out in the open doesn't mean that I have changed. It just means that you know. So Scott," I turned to our leader, "How's your relationship with Alex?"

He didn't respond, but he was gaping at me and I felt his hand drop from his visor.

"That's what I thought. We don't talk about your brother, just like we don't talk about the looks that Jean and Logan give each other when you're not looking, or the fact that Juggernaut just so happens to be Xavier's step-brother. We don't talk about Mikhail, Piotr's brother-turned-supervillain, and we definitely don't talk about the Shadow King. Maybe I'm being a bitch here, but frankly I think that I have to. The fact is that we all have at least three-million tons of dirty laundry that we would rather just hide then discuss. You don't get to drag my name through the mud just because mine got aired out."

"She's right you know." Remy said quietly. "You've obviously been with her for a very long time, and to not trust her now just because she didn't tell you one fact about her life is hypocrisy, especially when you expect the others to live with and ignore the mistakes that the rest of you have made."

"No one said that Kitty is going anywhere," Xavier replied. "Scott, sit down. We have more pressing matters at hand. Besides, I do not believe that Sabertooth was after Rogue. He seemed more like he was intending to take Gambit."

"But why would he want me?" Remy wanted to know.

"Le Dioble Blanc. The White Devil. Part of the Theives Guild of New Orleans, youngest son and heir to a pretty big fortune. You're mutation allows you to take the potential energy of an object and somehow transform it to kinetic energy, with explosive results. As far as I can see, your power is limitless. That kind of mutation has extreme potential. Also, you've been active since you were five. Rogue's mutation just activated two weeks ago. I think it's more likely that Magneto would be after a twenty-five year old explosive device than a hormonal teenager who just now discovered she is a mutant. Besides, you've got internet history. Aside from the fact that her birth mother is listed as Raven Darkholme, Rogue is as clean as a brand new motherboard."

Everyone was looking at me strangely. "What?" I asked defensively. "I'm a hero with no life and internet access."

"Whatever the case, Pryde is more than likely right and I trust her more than any other person here." Fury stated firmly, slamming his hand on the table for good measure. "If she wanted you all dead, you'd be dead right now, no question. Hell, if she wanted me dead, I'd be dead. No doubt about it. Out of all of you, she is easily the most dangerous and powerful, without even lifting a finger."

I have to say, I felt a little honored. I'd never, in the year that I had known him, heard him talk like that about anyone. Least of all me.

"Well, the bottom line is that Rogue and Remy here now. And this mansion is arguable the most impenetrable building in the country, thanks to all of us. No one is getting in unless we let them." The Professor wheeled himself to the door as he spoke. "I would suggest that you and your team leave, Director. I'm about to activate the lockdown protocol, and once I do, nothing will be able to get in or out."

"You mean I'm about to activate the protocol." I couldn't help but cut in. "Seeing as how we ruled you out because you are too well known and more likely to be impersonated.

He paused for a moment while reaching for the doorknob. I could hear it fall back to his armrest, and he drew in a heavy breath. "Kitty will activate it the second you leave the grounds. No one will be able to come within fifty feet of the boundaries without her knowing."

"Well then," Dr. Banner said, speaking for the first time since he had arrived (at least in my hearing), "I guess we better pull out."

"Yeah, you better." I agreed. "I'll activate the system the minute you're out."

"See ya later, Kit."

"Bye Tony."

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the Avengers were silent as they walked out our doors. Nick was the last to leave. His hands hit the door with a muted thud, and the carpet squished under his feet as he turned to face me.

"Pryde, if you ever feel the need to take a vacation, I hear TAHITI is a wonderful place to visit."

My unseeing eyes grew wide for a brief instant, and then he was gone with the rest of them, and I was left in a room full of people who I knew no longer trusted me.

Well, Kit, welcome to the sad part of being a hero.


End file.
